List of University of Arkansas people

The list of University of Arkansas people includes distinguished alumni, faculty, and leaders of the University of Arkansas.

Alumni

Arts, entertainment and letters

• Donna Axum - Miss America 1964
• Brent Bradshaw - writer for television
• Jimmy Dykes – ESPN college football and basketball analyst
• Peggy Gram - champion barbershop music singer and leader of Sweet Adelines International
• Bob Griffin - broadcast journalist and sports anchor in Shreveport, Louisiana, since 1961
• Barry Hannah – novelist and short story writer
• E. Lynn Harris – novelist and former in-house writer for the UA English Department
• Bobby Harwell - actor and producer
• T. J. Holmes – CNN anchor
• Douglas C. Jones - historical fiction writer
• E. Fay Jones – AIA Gold Medal-winning architect, architect for Thorncrown Chapel
• Laurence Luckinbill – actor, best known as Spock's half-brother in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
• Darcy Pattison - writer of children’s literature, blogger, writing teacher and indie publisher
• Nic Pizzolatto - creator and executive producer of HBO series True Detective
• Charles Portis – author of True Grit
• Edward Durell Stone – world-renowned 20th century modernist architect who helped create Radio City Music Hall and Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
• Pat Summerall – sportscaster for CBS, Fox and ESPN
• Tony Tost - Walt Whitman Award-winning poet and screenwriter
• Barry A. Vann - author, lecturer

Business, science and academia

• Mike Aamodt - industrial and organizational psychology professor at Radford University
• George W. Bond - president of Louisiana Tech University from 1929 to 1936, received his undergraduate degree from University of Arkansas
• William T. Dillard – founder of Dillard's Department Stores
• Joe T. Ford – founder and CEO of Alltel
• Scott T. Ford – President and CEO of Alltel
• Mary L. Good – past president, American Association for the Advancement of Science
• William Harrison (1935-2010), obstetrician who performed over 20,000 abortions as the only provider in Northwest Arkansas
• Tommy Holloway – retired manager of NASA’s Space Shuttle programs
• Jerry Jones – oilman and owner of the Dallas Cowboys
• Walter Keller – developer of the heart pacemaker
• John E. King, PhD - president of the Kansas State Teachers College (now Emporia State University); also president of the University of Wyoming from 1966 to 1967
• Thomas A. Mars – part of the group which owns Mars, Incorporated
• Rod D. Martin — Chairman of the Martin Organization, former PayPal executive, former President of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, technology entrepreneur and author
• Robert D. Maurer – inventor of fiber optic technology
• Doug McMillon - CEO of Walmart
• David Wiley Mullins (BA 1931) - served as President of the University of Arkansas and Chancellor of North Carolina State University
• David O. Russell – Vice President of Verizon Communications
• Ray Thornton – served as President of the University of Arkansas and Arkansas State University
• S. Robson Walton - Chairman of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
• Ed Wilson – President of the Fox Broadcasting Company

Sports

• Lance Alworth – Hall of Fame wide receiver for the American Football League's San Diego Chargers
• Steve Atwater – 8-time Pro Bowl NFL defensive back
• Corey Beck – retired NBA player
• Ronnie Brewer – NBA player for the Utah Jazz
• Veronica Campbell – 5-time Olympic medal-winning sprinter
• Mike Conley, Sr. – Olympic silver and gold medalist in triple jump, and holder of U.S. record
• Austin Cook - professional golfer
• John Daly – golfer, won five PGA Tour tournaments, including the PGA Championship and the British Open
• Butch Davis – former head football coach at the North Carolina Tar Heels, Cleveland Browns and Miami Hurricanes
• Calvin Davis – bronze medalist in 400m hurdles at the 1996 Olympics
• Joe Ferguson – former quarterback, had a seventeen-year career in the NFL, primarily with the Buffalo Bills
• Henry Ford - 1st round draft pick to the Houston Oilers in 1994
• Jack Haden – football player
• Ryan J. Hale – former defensive tackle for the New York Giants

After attending Arkansas, Dan Hampton played for the Chicago Bears of the NFL from 1979 to 1990.

• Dan Hampton – member of Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Madre Hill - SEC Player of the Year, 1995, played in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns and the Oakland Raiders
• Jim Lee Howell – head coach of the 1956 NFL champion New York Giants
• Jimmy Johnson – former football coach and two-time Super Bowl winner with the Dallas Cowboys; first of two coaches to win an NCAA championship and a Super Bowl; Fox NFL studio analyst
• Joe Johnson - NBA player for the Brooklyn Nets
• Felix Jones – Pittsburgh Steelers running back
• Matt Jones – former National Football League wide receiver
• Deena Kastor – bronze medalist in 2004 Olympic marathon, holder of American women's record for marathon
• Dallas Keuchel – current MLB pitcher with the Houston Astros
• Jeff King – former MLB player
• Cliff Lee – Cy Young Award-winning MLB pitcher
• Stacy Lewis - LPGA golfer, 2013 Women's British Open Champion
• Jim Lindsey – former NFL player
• Darren McFadden - Dallas Cowboys running back and two time Heisman Trophy runner-up
• Oliver Miller – former NBA player
• Sidney Moncrief – former NBA player
• Mike Oquist – former MLB player
• Jannero Pargo – professional basketball player for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks
• Limbo Parks - assistant coach for high school Varsity football team and high school ISS administrator
• Scotty Robertson - former NBA coach; Louisiana Tech University basketball coach from 1964 to 1974, received master's degree from UA
• Howard Sampson - former NFL player
• Gerald Skinner - former NFL player
• Barry Switzer – former head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners (3 NCAA Championships) and Dallas Cowboys (1 World Championship); the second of two coaches to win an NCAA Championship and a Super Bowl (the other is former teammate Jimmy Johnson)
• Shelley Taylor-Smith - Australian long-distance swimmer
• Clyde Van Sickle - former NFL player
• Chuck Washington - former NFL player
• Tim Webster - former NFL player
• Sonny Weems - NBA player for the Toronto Raptors
• Corliss Williamson – retired NBA player
• Ben Winkelman - former NFL player

Politics, law and military

• William Vollie Alexander, Jr., BA 1957 - U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 1st district from 1969-1993
• Beryl Anthony, BA 1961; JD 1963 – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 4th district from 1979-1993
• Morris S. Arnold – senior-status judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, based in Little Rock, former UALR law professor and former Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court
• Duncan Baird - Arkansas state budget director since 2015; former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for Benton County, 2009-2015; unsuccessful candidate for state treasurer in 2014 Republican primary
• Mike Beebe – 45th Governor of Arkansas
• Robert Marion Berry, 1964 – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 1st district from 1997-2011
• Edwin Bethune – lawyer and lobbyist; member of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas's 2nd district from 1979–1985
• Mark Biviano (B.S. Finance) - Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from White County
• John Boozman, 1974 – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 3rd district since 2001
• Drew Bowers, 1906 - Arkansas lawyer and Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1926 and 1928; obtained a teacher's certificate from the university
• David Branscum, 1982 - Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Searcy County since 2011
• Maurice Britt – World War II Medal of Honor recipient, NFL player, Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas
• Charles Hillman Brough - governor of Arkansas from 1917 to 1921 was a UA faculty member
• Dale Bumpers – 37th Governor of Arkansas and Senator representing Arkansas from 1975-1999
• John Burkhalter (Civil Engineering 1980) - former chairman of both the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and the Arkansas Highway Commission; unsuccessful Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014
• Erwin Cain (Law 1988) - Republican former member of the Texas House of Representatives
• Harvey Locke Carey (pre-law) - Louisiana lawyer and politician
• Skip Carnine - Republican former member of the Arkansas House of Representative from Rogers, 2009-2015; retired educator, received Ph.D. from UA
• Francis Cherry – 35th Governor of Arkansas

Admiral Vern Clark, Chief of Naval Operations for the United States Navy, is an alumnus of the University of Arkansas.

• Admiral Vern E. Clark – Chief of Naval Operations, United States Navy
• Jerry Climer – public administration specialist; founder of The Congressional Institute and the Public Governance Institute in Washington, D.C.
• Sterling R. Cockrill - businessman, politician, urban planner, and artist; Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1967 to 1968
• Ken Coon – psychologist, former Arkansas Republican Party state chairman, Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1974, former state Jaycee president
• Donald L. Corbin – Associate Justice for the Arkansas Supreme Court
• William Fadjo Cravens – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 4th district from 1939-1949
• Maud Crawford - first woman attorney in Camden, Arkansas; attended UA from 1911-1912; passed bar exam without attending law school; disappeared in 1957 amid international speculation
• Paul Danielson – Associate Justice for the Arkansas Supreme Court
• Andy Davis, B.S. and M.S. 1999 and 2001 in Civil Engineering - member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from District 31; resident of Little Rock
• Jeff Davis, Democratic United States Senator from Arkansas and the 20th Governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas
• Jesse C. Deen, M.S. - educator in Bossier Parish, Louisiana; member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972 to 1988
• Jana Della Rosa, B.S. Industrial Engineering 2000 - Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for Benon and Washington Counties since 2015
• Jay Dickey, J.D. 1963 – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 4th district from 1993-2001
• George Washington Donaghey – 22nd Governor of Arkansas
• Dan Douglas - Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Benton County since 2013
• Clyde T. Ellis, BS '31; JD '34 – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 3rd district from 1939-1943
• General Carlton D. Everhart II, M.S. 1989 – Commander, Air Mobility Command
• Brigadier General Daniel B. Fincher – Air Force Judge Advocate and Commander of the Air Force Legal Operations Agency
• Charlene Fite, Master's in Education - Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Crawford County
• Scott Flippo, BBA 2003 - incoming Republican member of the Arkansas State Senate from Baxter, Boone, and Marion Counties
• John C. Floyd, BS 1879 – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 3rd district from 1905-1915
• Clay Ford, BS Finance 1969 - member of both the Arkansas (1975-1976) and the Florida House of Representatives (2007-2013) from Pulaski and Santa Rosa Counties, respectively
• J. William Fulbright, BA '25 – U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, creator of the Fulbright Scholar Program and president of the University of Arkansas
• Junius Marion Futrell – 30th Governor of Arkansas
• Ezekiel C. Gathings, JD 1929 – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 1st district from 1939-1969
• William S. Goodwin – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 7th district from 1911-1921
• Bill Gossage, Master's in Counseling 1991 - Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from District 82 in Franklin County; assistant superintendent of the Ozark School District
• John Paul Hammerschmidt, BA '41 - U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 3rd district from 1967 to 1993
• Jim Hannah – Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court
• Lieutenant General Richard C. Harding – 16th Judge Advocate General of the Air Force
• Mike Haridopolos – member of the Florida Senate
• Justin Harris, BS - Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Washington and Crawford Counties
• Pat Hays - former mayor of North Little Rock, Arkansas, Arkansas state representative
• Jim Hendren (Class of 1984, B.S. in Electrical Engineering) - Arkansas Republican state senator since 2013, former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
• Kim Hendren (B.S. in Electrical Engineering) – Arkansas state senator, 1979–1983, 2003–2011, former member of the Arkansas House
• Bart Hester (B.S. in Business Management) - Arkansas Republican state senator from District 1 since 2013; real estate businessman in Benton County
• Grant Hodges (Class of 2013; Bachelor's in Political Science) - Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for Benton County since 2015
• Bruce Holland - Arkansas state senator for Sebastian County 2011-2015
• George Howard, Jr. – first African-American federal judge in Arkansas
• Asa Hutchinson – 46th Governor of Arkansas; U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 3rd district from 1997-2001
• Donna Hutchinson (Master of Education) - member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Benton County
• Tim Hutchinson – U.S. Senator representing Arkansas from 1997-2003 and U.S. Representative representing Arkansas's 3rd district from 1993-1997
• Bob Johnson (M.S. Accounting) – Democratic member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for Pulaski County since 2015; former justice of the peace
• Neal Sox Johnson, graduate studies - first executive director of the Arkansas Republican Party
• Richard C. Johnston, MS '89 - U.S. Air Force general
• Johnny R. Key (Class of 1991) - Arkansas education commissioner; Republican former member of the Arkansas State Senate from Baxter County, 2009-2015
• Bryan King - Republican member of the Arkansas Senate for the fifth district
• Dan Kyle, MBA 1961; PhD 1968 – Louisiana legislative auditor (1989-2003)
• Jack Ladyman, B.S. Engineering - Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for Craighead County since 2015
• Lynn Lowe, B.S. Engineering 1959 – former Republican state chairman and gubernatorial nominee, 1978, and Texarkana farmer
• Mark Lowery, Master's in Communications 2000 - member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Pulaski County since 2013
• Robin Lundstrum, three degrees in education and health science - Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for Benton and Washington Counties since 2015
• Stephanie Malone, B.S. in Journalism 2000 - Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from District 77 in Sebastian County since 2009
• Mark R. Martin, BS Engineering 1998 - Arkansas Secretary of State, former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Washington County
• John Ellis Martineau – 28th Governor of Arkansas
• Ricardo Martinelli – President of the Republic of Panama
• Hayes McClerkin - LLB '59 - Speaker of the Arkansas House, 1969-1970; Texarkana attorney
• Larry Reed McCord – prominent Fort Smith attorney who was vice mayor of Fort Smith from 1977 to 1978, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas from 1978 to 1982, and assistant U.S. Attorney from 1982 until his retirement in 2006
• Sid McMath – decorated U.S. Marine, 34th Governor of Arkansas, top personal injury attorney (President, International Academy of Trial Lawyers, 1977–78); built University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, defeated Dixiecrats in Arkansas and opposed Governor Faubus
• Edwin L. Mechem – Republican governor of the State of New Mexico
• Arlie Metheny – United States Army officer at Fort Chaffee and superintendent of three Arkansas school systems
• Harold Montgomery – member of Louisiana State Senate 1960–1968; 1972–1976
• John Isaac Moore – member of the Arkansas Senate and Acting Governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas
• Micah Neal, BS 1997 - member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Springdale
• Catherine Dorris Norrell, BA 1925 – U.S. Representative representing Arkansas's 6th district from 1961-1963 and Director of the United States Department of State from 1965-1969
• Danny L. Patrick - Bachelor's, Master's, Specialist degrees in Education, member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Madison and Carroll Counties, 1967-1970
• Xenophon Overton Pindall – 21st Governor of Arkansas
• Odell Pollard, JD 1950 - Searcy attorney and state Republican chairman, 1966-1970
• David Pryor, BA 1957; JD 1964 – 39th Governor of Arkansas from 1975-1979, U.S. Senator from 1979-1997, and U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 4th district from 1966-1973

David Pryor

• Mark Pryor, BA 1985; JD 1988 – Senator representing Arkansas
• Joe Purcell – 40th Governor of Arkansas, Arkansas Attorney General, and Lieutenant Governor
• Heartsill Ragon, BA 1905 – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 5th district from 1923-1933
• James B. Reed, JD 1909 – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's former 6th district, 1923-1929
• Charles C. Reid, BA 1885 – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 4th district from 1901-1903
• Willis Ricketts – Arkansas Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1962; pharmacist and businessman
• Bob C. Riley – 38th Governor of Arkansas
• Joseph Robinson – 23rd Governor of Arkansas and Senator representing Arkansas from 1913-1937 and U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 6th district from 1903-1913
• Laurie Rushing - real estate broker from Hot Springs, Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for Garland and Hot Spring Counties since 2013
• David B. Samuel – attorney, state legislator, and city judge in Shreveport, Louisiana
• Rodney Slater – former U.S. Secretary of Transportation
• Lieutenant General Martin R. Steele - United States Marine Corps lieutenant general
• Gary Stubblefield - dairy farmer from Franklin County; member of the Arkansas State Senate since 2013; member of Arkansas House from 2011 to 2013
• Mark Swaney – Green Party of Arkansas State Coordinator, founder of the Arkansas Committee
• Boyd Anderson Tackett, JD 1935 – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 4th district from 1949-1953
• Tom Jefferson Terral – 27th Governor of Arkansas
• David D. Terry, JD 1903 – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 5th district from 1933-1943
• Ray Thornton, JD 1956 – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 2nd district from 1991-1997, 4th district from 1973-1979, Arkansas Attorney General from 1971-1973, and President of the University of Arkansas System from 1984-1990
• John N. Tillman, BA 1880; JD 1883 – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 3rd district from 1945-1967 and President of the University of Arkansas from 1905-1912
• James William Trimble, BA 1917; JD 1925 – U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 3rd district from 1945-1967
• Jim Guy Tucker, JD 1968 – 43rd Governor of Arkansas, U.S. Representative from Arkansas's 2nd district from 1977-1979, and Arkansas Attorney General from 1973-1977
• Elana Wills – Associate Justice for the Arkansas Supreme Court
• Marshall Wright (Bachelor's and J. D.) - Democratic member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for St. Francis, Woodruff, Lee, and Monroe Counties

Faculty

• Randy Alexander, director of UA campus housing, 2004 to 2011; Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Springdale since 2013
• David A. Bednar – faculty in the College of Business Administration 1980–1997; thereafter, President of Brigham Young University - Idaho
• Bill Clinton – faculty in the School of Law 1973–1976
• Hillary Rodham Clinton – faculty in the School of Law 1974–1976
• Ellen Gilchrist – fiction writer
• Molly Giles – fiction writer
• Donald Harington – fiction writer, Professor of Art History
• William Harrison – screenwriter and author of Rollerball
• E. Fay Jones – Dean of the School of Architecture, architect for Thorncrown Chapel
• Mohammad Ataul Karim - physicist
• Eleanor King – principal dancer and choreographer from the early days of American modern dance
• David William Thomas – professor of journalism in the early 1930s; thereafter, the mayor of Minden, Louisiana
• Miller Williams – faculty in the Department of English, poet
• Charles W. Woodworth – entomologist and botanist at the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station 1888–1891, namesake of C. W. Woodworth Award

University presidents

Up until 1982, the president was the chief administrative officer of the Fayetteville campus. After 1982, the position of chancellor was created to be the top administrator at the Fayetteville campus, and the title of president referred to the University of Arkansas System.

President	Tenure
Noah P. Gates	1871-1873
Albert W. Bishop	1873-1875
Noah P. Gates	1875-1877
Daniel Harvey Hill	1877-1884
George M. Edgar	1884-1887
Edward H. Murfee	1887-1894
John L. Buchanan	1894-1902
Henry S. Hartzog	1902-1905
John N. Tillman	1905-1912
John Hugh Reynolds (acting)	1912-1913
John C. Futrall	1913-1939
J. William Fulbright	1939-1941
Arthur M. Harding	1941-1947
Lewis Webster Jones	1947-1951
John T. Caldwell	1952-1959
Storm Whaley (acting)	1959-1960
David Wiley Mullins	1960-1974
Charles E. Bishop	1974-1980
James E. Martin*	1980-1982 *Martin continued to serve as President of the University of Arkansas System after 1982.

University chancellors

Up until 1982, the president was the chief administrative officer of the Fayetteville campus. After 1982, the position of chancellor was created to be the top administrator at the Fayetteville campus.

Chancellor	Tenure
B.A. Nugent	1982-1983
Willard Gatewood	1984-1985
Daniel Ferritor	1986-1997
John A. White	1997-2008
Dr. G. David Gearhart	2008–2015
Joseph E. Steinmetz	2016-present